Egyptian player Ahmed Elganaini’s solitary strike in the third quarter handed Ghana’s national hockey team, Black Sticks, their first loss in the 13th African Games in Accra.
Despite the 0 – 1 loss at the Theodosia Okoh Stadium yesterday, the Ghanaian side will meet their Egyptian rivals in the men’s hockey final tomorrow afternoon (push-off is at 4p.m.), after the two teams won their group games against Nigeria and Kenya to accumulate maximum points before yesterday’s clash.
Despite a spirited effort from the Ghanaians in the opening stages, they struggled to keep their shots on target, with Emmanuel Ankomah and Abdellah Addison firing wide.
Egyptian dominance
However, the experienced Egyptian side looked more likely to score, especially from their penalty corner routines.
There were warning signs of the Egyptian goal, which came moments after Ghana’s goalie, Eugene Acheampong, had saved earlier from an Egyptian short corner.
A minute later, the Egyptians got their reward, with Elganaini converting from the Egyptian skipper, Amr Sayed’s corner.
In the day’s other tie, Nigeria defeated Kenya 2-1. The two teams will meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday before the final.
Meanwhile, Ghana will face off with rivals Nigeria in the women’s final on Saturday for the gold medal, with Kenya earning bronze after finishing bottom of the group.
Source: Graphiconline
